Justin Long

The doctor in Idiocracy (2006) reads the results from a machine that diagnoses through pictures as though he can barely understand them. Justin Long makes the stupidity convincing without making the man seem aware of it. We laughed at his uncertain reading of those results, because he seems to need as much help as the patient. Long is good at playing someone whose limitations become painfully obvious when somebody needs him.

He moved between horror and comedy early: Jeepers Creepers (2001) was his breakout, followed by comedies including DodgeBall (2004) and Accepted (2006). Horror became a more frequent destination with Drag Me to Hell (2009), Tusk (2014) and Barbarian (2022). He does not have to stop being funny when the film becomes frightening. His grounded manner makes the awkward everyman credible, and remains useful when he plays someone less agreeable.

Idiocracy also shows how much he depends on the film around him. Mike Judge gives him a precise comic task, and Tim Suhrstedt's flat, hard daylight refuses to dress up the joke. Long belongs in Darren Gilford's world of advertising-covered surfaces and buildings held together with cable. But the errands of the plot and the repeated explanations wear down the comedy. David Rennie's edit cannot conceal those joins, and a well-played small part cannot repair them.

Giri/Haji (2019), with Long as Vickers, gives that awkwardness a more rewarding setting. Vickers has the air of a child trying to pass for a grown-up, another man less equipped for adulthood than he imagines. Directors Ben Chessell and Julian Farino let comedy sit beside violence and family trouble without tidying every change of mood, while Adrian Johnston's quieter music helps the sadness register. The gang intrigue takes too long to gather pace, but we recommend the series for performances that make its crowded story worth following.

Barbarian makes darker use of Long's ordinariness through AJ, a narcissistic Hollywood type. He plays an unpleasant man truthfully without signalling villainy, an ability horror has put to good use. The risk is being asked to repeat that trick until the apparent niceness becomes a warning in itself. He need not keep turning sinister to stay interesting.